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Even the most casual sport fan heard about the recent firing of Cleveland Cavaliers’ head coach David Blatt. The move was a big surprise given the Cavs’ standing at the top of the Eastern Conference Central Division. In an awkward and rather opaque TV interview the following evening, Cavs general manager David Griffin stated, “We need to be accountable to one another.”

Accountability. Most would agree it’s worth striving for, if not outright demanding it. Yet accountability is elusive in too many organizations, despite the common understanding that it’s a virtue. Why is that so? I can’t speak to professional sports teams, though ego and outsized pay checks are surely factors. But for companies, these are the most frequent reasons I observe that make accountability difficult to master.

Accountability is not a core value. Successful companies articulate their core values in such a way that one can visualize and distinguish precisely what these values look like in the context of their workplace. Values provide guard rails for behavior and a common language to guide internal and external interaction, hiring, firing and rewards. When accountability is not elucidated in a company’s core values, it is no longer obligatory. Rather, it becomes simply an ideal that no one is on the hook for. Integrity is accountability’s close relative: doing what you said you would do, when you said you would do it, to the best of your ability.

Too few employees have defined roles, goals, or metrics to measure success.Accountability is amorphous because we too rarely tell people precisely what is expected of them and what success looks like. Job descriptions, measurable goals, key performance metrics – these are the constructs for accountability that remove subjectivity. The chasm between many managers and employees is interesting. The former agonize, “I pay them well; they should know what to do” as if their employees read minds. The latter bemoan, “I have no idea what they want from me, what my priorities are, what success looks like.” When responding to my Organizational Health questionnaire, on a scale of 1 to 5, most companies I begin work with have an average score of under 2.7 on the question, “I understand my accountabilities and have metrics to measure progress.”Sales reps are typically accountable in the form of that thing we call quota, yet a revenue number by itself is insufficient. They are at risk of missing their numbers because they rarely understand the sub-set of accountabilities that, if met, will get them to that goal. As a result, the annual quota is a number they’ve no confidence in attaining, nor can management count on.

Top producers are exempt. Among the rumors surrounding the firing of Cleveland’s coach was that Blatt didn’t hold LeBron James, the team’s #1 player by far, accountable. This exemption for top producers exists in many companies. The thesis that a top producer is too valuable to lose – “We can’t make him; he’ll quit” – causes leaders and managers to look the other way when that individual doesn’t live up to her obligations or selectively follows the rules. This is particularly true when it comes to behavioral accountabilities. Selective exemption is a culture wrecking phenomenon that leads to pernicious results: poorly functioning teams, process breakdowns, low morale, apathy, and a blame vs. solve world view – certainly not the stuff of high functioning organizations.

The C-suite doesn’t lead by example.Modeling accountability is essential if we want our employees to follow suit. We must demonstrate that it’s an organizational covenant, irrespective of one’s place on the org chart. Last week, I facilitated a cross-functional project meeting for a client. Everyone had an assignment to complete in advance. The managing partner arrived – late no less – without having completed his assignment. He had allowed ad hoc work and interruptions to take precedent over his commitment to the team. “Sorry, it was a super busy week” was met by a “you have to be kidding me” look in everyone’s eyes. As if their weeks hadn’t been busy, too. Afterward, people expressed resignation. “Same old story; he says he wants change but it’s BS.” Unspoken, but in the air, was the sentiment that people weren’t going to do the heavy lifting for a boss that wasn’t willing to do it along with them. They are destined to maintain the status quo, instead of realizing growth, if it continues to happen

Accountability is elusive. We all know it’s a good thing, but too often we avoid the hard work required to institutionalize it. It’s simple – not always easy – to solve:

Make accountability a core value

Qualify and quantify what it looks like

Allow for no exemptions

Model the behavior

What do you think? What other elements are at play that make accountability elusive? Please share the ways that you’ve successfully institutionalized accountability in your organization. Missteps and blunders are instructive, too.

Anyone who’s ever held a sales position can share a horror story, likely 2 or 3, about working for a terrible sales manager. The bad ones are easy to spot: ego driven, never wrong, hung up on process, excellent at alienating customers. The successful managers are less obvious, and that’s because the focus is on their team, a team that’s humming, making its numbers and creating life-long customers. And somewhere in between are the mediocre, not necessarily disasters, but certainly not positioning the company for growth. continue reading »

Small business B2B sales management is a tough, tough task. (It’s not so easy in big business either. According to consulting firm Sales Benchmark Index, the average tenure of a new sales leader is just 19 months.) In part, it’s tough because small businesses don’t typically have an experienced sales manager. Often that task is left to the CEO, whose expertise lies in their product or service subject matter, not in sales.

Whether you’re the sales manager or the CEO wearing that hat reluctantly, the challenge is surmountable. Get outside help, subscribe to sales management blogs, and don’t make any of these 9 mistakes:

1. Hire The Wrong Title. This may seem obvious but it’s a common set-up for failure. Desiring to lure a big producer, you hire someone with the title “VP of Sales” even though it’s a direct sales role. I’ve yet to see a VP of Sales worth their salt go back to carrying a bag – unless they’re getting a big equity position. (Even then, they may no longer have the stomach for it.) They’ll collect their check from you and wait for permission to hire, you guessed it, a sales person. Instead, get clear about your needs, what makes your opportunity compelling, and go find a compatible person for your organization. He or she is out there; you don’t have to settle.

2. Fail to Define a Go-to-Market Sales Plan. “Go sell something” is a poor directive but it’s a pretty standard marching order. Writing a clear sales plan is hard, but essential, work. How else will your reps clearly understand their target markets, ideal customer profile, value proposition, positioning? How can they create smart tactics when they don’t clearly understand the goal? How will you decide where their energy is best spent, which opportunities to seize and which to pass on? Without a clearly defined plan, you’re guaranteed inconsistency at best; chaos at worst.

3. Ignore Sales Process. Without process companies fail to capitalize on best practices or manage their resources in the most productive way. By understanding the customer’s buying cycles and creating a related sales cycle with stage specific activities and milestones, you’re able to analyze sales activities and outcomes, take actions that influence buyer behavior, and uncover where sales people need additional support and training. Without process, forget about a realistic forecast; you’re left with lots of wishing and hoping.

4. Neglect Metrics or Accountability Structures. The adage “what gets measured gets managed” couldn’t be more true in sales. First identify key performance indicators, then create sales metrics that better influence outcomes, motivate individuals, and make forecasting more predictable. Include your team in developing these to gain buy-in. They’ll understand that by managing to those metrics their success is far more likely than without them. It’s not baby-sitting, it’s management. Big difference.

5. Treat Your Reps The Same. The sales manager is a coach. Like any team, the players need different levels and type of attention. Does s/he need help with skills, mind-set, time-management? You won’t know unless you meet them where they are as individuals, and respond accordingly. Applying the same management techniques to everyone will not create equality; it will create frustration and missed opportunities to grow your team members. Keith Rosen’s book Coaching Salepeople Into Sales Champions offers some excellent guidance.

6. Substitute Your Comp Plan for Management. Slashing pay for a poor performer doesn’t solve your performance problem. It simply lures you into a false sense that the individual isn’t costing you too much. You’re kidding yourself. They’re costing you dearly through unexploited territory, wasted energy by support staff, and team morale. If you can’t manage a rep to better performance, release them. Quickly.

7. Saddle Your Reps with Non-Sales Activities. Every position has a certain amount of administrative work, but it’s mind-boggling how much non-sales activity small business reps get saddled with. If you want reps to sell, give them time to do so. Look at your processes and identify what activities could be off-loaded to a less skilled, lower paid headcount.

8. Skimp on Tools. Are your reps on the road but they’ve no access to your servers through their mobile devices? Are they travelling regularly but don’t have a wireless card to access 3G networks when no wi-fi is available? Are Post-Its, lists, and disconnected spreadsheets substituting for a CRM tool? Don’t think of these items as nice-to-haves. They are keys to productivity, sanity and morale, which make them investments, not expenses.

9. Undervalue Continuous Recruiting. It’s really hard to hire good sales reps, and it doesn’t get easier when the pressure is on to fill a spot. When territory is open there’s a tendency for management to settle on a sub-optimal candidate. Be disciplined to continually interview and recruit for the role. Put the word out with business partners and maintain an on-going search through LinkedIn and other social media platforms. Target individuals who work in your industry and court them. They may not be ready to move today, but when something changes, they’ll call you first. Equally important, you’ll learn tons about what the competition is doing and what others perceive as risks / opportunities in the market.

B2B sales management is hard, but essential in an organization’s ability to drive revenue. Without customers, there’s no reason for a company to exist. I can’t think of a better motivation to improve sales management skills.

Please share mistakes you’ve made, suffered, or witnessed so we all can learn.

I used to find December the most frustrating month. As an entrepreneur, I have a built in propensity for action, particularly for working with clients and forwarding deals. The trouble is, when December rolls around, customers and prospects become harder to meet with as they contend with year-end pressures, use-it-or-lose-it vacations, and sometimes just exhaustion. Short of dealing with the urgent, many would prefer to punt decision-making to January. continue reading »